Course Description

This course reviews and discusses methods of research, current data,
and current theories in the field of human attention. It is intended for
undergraduate students with basic knowledge in cognitive psychology
(prerequisites PSYCH 7A or 9A-B-C). Some questions we will consider are:
What is attention? What are its manifestations and its functions? Its
neural basis? What experimental techniques are used to study attention?
What are the practical applications of this research? The course is
multidisciplinary: centered on cognitive psychology but also drawing on
neuroscience, computational modeling, and human factors. The class
activities will include lectures, demonstrations, guided discussions,
and brief (5-minute) student presentations. Reading materials of
reasonable length (typically one textbook chapter) will be announced and
made available at least one week prior to each class. Study questions will
also be provided to guide you while you read the material. Please come
prepared to answer the study questions in class, critique the experiments
and theories, and lead a general discussion on these topics. The objective
is that by the end of the course the students are familiar with the major
empirical and theoretical results in the study of attention, understand
the evidence behind these findings, and are able to discuss them with
their peers and with the instructor.